Leaders Lazio surge four clear
Reuters - Sunday 31 October 2010, 21:47
MILAN - Shock leaders Lazio moved four
points clear at the top of Serie A after a backs-to-the-wall 1-0
win at Palermo on Sunday, their fourth away victory in a row.
Defender Andre Dias scored against the run of play with a
superb volley from a free-kick after 27 minutes.
Sampdoria also won 1-0 away at Cesena with a last-gasp goal
but dropped talisman Antonio Cassano after he swore at the club
president last week.
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While Samp were getting used to the possible prolonged
absence of Cassano, Fiorentina were welcoming back fan favourite
Adrian Mutu from a nine-month drugs ban but his side could only
draw 0-0 at Catania.
AC Milan's 2-1 defeat by Juventus on Saturday meant Lazio,
relegation candidates last term, would stay top whatever the
result in Sicily, but they still threw bodies in the way of
practically every shot Palermo could muster.
Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore had missed a good early
chance for the hosts and almost scored when Lazio goalkeeper
Fernando Muslera struck a clearance against him.
Palermo piled on the pressure again in the second half after
Lazio's Giuseppe Biava was dismissed for a second yellow card
after 77 minutes, but Muslera and his defence held out to leave
the visitors on 22 points from nine games.
Second-placed Inter Milan won 1-0 at Genoa on Friday.
"We still lack 18 points to reach the famous 40 mark and
maybe safety (from relegation), and once we reach that we'll
see," Lazio's cautious coach, Edy Reja, told Sky.
Next weekend Lazio face city rivals AS Roma, who will be
without captain Francesco Totti after he was sent off in the 2-0
win over Lecce on Saturday.
NAPOLI FIFTH
While Lazio hope to sustain an unlikely title challenge with
a modest squad, Sampdoria are poised to play without banished
Cassano for the foreseeable future.
They missed his creative ideas in victory at Cesena, where
Giampaolo Pazzini grabbed the winner in stoppage time.
Cassano, who had appeared to have outgrown his bad-boy
image, was dropped and disciplinary proceedings were brought
against him after he insulted club president Riccardo Garrone.
The Italy forward, whose Azzurri future is also unclear if
he does not play, has apologised, but whether he will be sold in
January or brought back into the fold remains to be seen.
Cassano has occasionally been compared to Diego Maradona,
given their gifts and flaws, but to Napoli fans no one will come
close to the Argentina great.
Maradona's former club celebrated his 50th birthday this
weekend with a 1-0 win at Brescia, where Argentine striker
Ezequiel Lavezzi fittingly grabbed the second-half winner, in
heavy rain, to send the Naples side up to fifth.
Another skilful but troubled footballer, Mutu had a decent
game and a few half-chances on his return for Fiorentina at
coach Sinisa Mihajlovic's former club Catania.
The Romanian played in the stalemate despite being probed by
police after allegedly punching a barman last week.
In other games, Udinese continued their rise up the table
with a 2-0 win at bottom side Bari. Fellow strugglers Bologna
lost 2-0 at Cagliari and Parma drew 0-0 with Chievo.